Council to consider proposal for new 50-unit rental apartment building in Valleyview

Photo: City of Kamloops / Bluegreen Architecture

A rendering of a new proposed 50-unit rental apartment building for a Valleyview property.

Kamloops city council is being asked to consider a zoning bylaw change that, if approved, will pave the way for a rental apartment building to rise on a Valleyview lot that has sat vacant for nearly two decades.

The 50-unit development is proposed for 1693 East Trans-Canada Hwy.

Developer Pav Gill, of Gill’s Dream Enterprise Ltd., told Castanet Kamloops that the company recognized the need for more rental units in the city.

Gill said in March 2021, the company completed a 21-unit rental development, named Gill Estate, on a property adjacent to the proposed new development site.

“From our experience over the last year and a half, there's a large demand for rentals in Kamloops. So we noticed that there was a need for more housing, and thought that this would be an appropriate development for this site here on East Trans-Canada Highway,” Gill said.

Gill said the development firm purchased the property in January 2021.

According to a report prepared by city staff for council, the property was formerly the site of an Esso station, but has sat vacant for nearly two decades.

The report said the developer has applied to rezone the property, and has also applied for a development permit for the project.

“The proposal includes surface and under-building parking on the ground level, and four storeys of residential units above the first floor,” the report said.

According to the report, the building will include units of various sizes, including 20 studio units, 22 one-bedroom units, seven two-bedroom units and a three-bedroom penthouse suite.

"Our two bedroom is about 1,100 square feet, and they go down to about 500 square feet for the studio suite,” Gill said.

Gill said the three-bedroom penthouse will be about 2,600 square feet in size. He said the property will be called Gill Residence.

According to city staff, the property is within close proximity to transit stops, active transportation linkages, stores and Ralph Bell elementary school.

The report said there are 59 off-street parking spaces and 25 bicycle parking spaces proposed on the property.

Landscaping is planned to provide a buffer from the highway and a common outdoor amenity area is also planned.

According to the city report, developers reached out to business owners and homeowners near the property and heard that neighbours were generally supportive of the project.

Gill said he hasn’t heard any opposition to the project when speaking with neighbours.

“They want something done with that site because it's been sitting bare for almost 20 years now,” Gill said.

“I think a lot of people, either they’re from Kamloops or they are travelling from outside of Kamloops, when they drive by they see a lot with nothing there, it’s just bare. It'd be nice to have a nice building go up that looks good.”

If council votes to approve a first and second reading of the proposed zoning change, the proposal will go to a public hearing.

The development will be discussed at council’s meeting on Tuesday, which starts at 1:30 p.m.